Birth Number One

After nine grueling months of silence from Zechariah, John is finally born.

Elizabeth, the mother, was quite old at the time, no children before, and therefore deemed barren. So when she had her first, and only, child there was obviously a good bit of fuss in the family. And what we see the family say is that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

It's interesting to me how much we relate, and yet don't relate to this passage, even these two verses. A miracle has happened, and those surrounding the one that was blessed rejoice with her! And they also acknowledge that God had great mercy on her as well, attributing the miracle to God.

Yesterday I was at church helping out with the Jr. High Sunday school and we were going around talking about gifts from God in a small group. I had each of the students go around and tell us a bit about gifts they they had received from God that they are thankful for and one student looked at me and said, "He defeated my mom's cancer."

Completely floored me.

I've known a few people with cancer, and many more that have been effected by cancer through family members, friends, etc. Yet rarely when that particular person is deemed cancer free or in remission, they are congratulated for beating cancer. Hardly ever have I heard people give the entire credit to God, but only half credit, with the majority of it going to the person that had cancer. There is much rejoicing with the person, but, from what I've seen personally, there has been a lack of recognition that God has shown mercy to them.

I could go on and on about this, but these are just my initial thoughts. Yes, rejoice with people who have been considered cancer free, but give all the glory to God for it is by his will and the knowledge that he has given the medical world that the cancer was able to be defeated.

During this holiday season, remember that the gifts that we receive, including life itself, are a gift of God, and never by our own work. And remember the greatest gift of all, Jesus, our only path to salvation, was not something at all that we could ever do.

A Family Meeting

After Mary found out she was going to have a child, and after she's been told that her barren cousin was as well, she decided to take trip to see Elizabeth.

What we see happen is when Mary shows up, she greets Elizabeth, and John jumps for joy while in Elizabeth's womb. At this, she is filled with the Holy Spirit and knows that Mary is pregnant and with who she is pregnant with! She had no prior knowledge as far as we can see, but it was revealed to her, by God, through the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth then tells Mary just how blessed she is and how excited she is for what's coming.

But one thing that she says is, "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." Yes, this is specifically spoken of about Mary, but that doesn't mean that we can't look at this and apply it to ourselves. We all are promised things from God, just as Mary was promised a son. And just like her, we become blessed by believing there will be a fulfillment of the promise. We see that all throughout the Old Testament. Abraham was promised an inheritance, and great nation for his offspring, and centuries later we see these events taking place with his decedents. He was promised by God, and he believed that there would be a fulfillment.

And because of that, Mary spends 10 of our verses praising God for what he has done and his magnificence. Spend time reading this passage, and reflect on it while keeping in mind the promise that was fulfilled with the coming of Jesus, and also the promises that came with him.

My soul magnifies the Lord,

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for he who is mighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his name.

And his mercy is for those who fear him

from generation to generation. 

He has shown strength with his arm;

he has scatted the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he had brought down the mighty from their thrones

and exalted those of humble estate;

he has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has helped his servant Israel,

in remembrance of his mercy, 

as he spoke to our fathers,

to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

The Second Gift that was Promised

Interesting to me is how the Christ, the most important person in history, was promised after the one that is basically the one that introduces him. Even more interesting is looking at Revelation 13 we see the exact opposite. In Luke it's the Messenger then the Ruler, and Revelation it's the Ruler, and then the Messenger.

But while looking at Luke, I am reminded of something that Jesus has said, "The last shall be first." Jesus is promised after John, but Jesus is more important that John, and in this case, the last promised is the first in importance.

But what we see leading up to this Christmas season is that there is this young girl, promised to a man named Joseph, just going about her day as usual. She's living in a town called Nazareth, which has a pretty crappy reputation, much like Will-kill-yinz-burg in Pittsburgh. When suddenly a wild Angel appears! This being the same angel that visited Zechariah, who, oddly enough, was married to Mary's cousin Elizabeth. This family is obviously looked upon with favor by God. Mary is promised that she will bear a son. She is called favored one, and told that God is with her. She's incredibly confused by this, and probably a bit scared with this super bright being showing up and talking to her. Yet the angel, Gabriel, told her there was nothing to be scared of, because she has found favor with God. And because of that she's going to have a child, and not just a child but a son, and his name will be Jesus, the Greek for Joshua, which means, "YAHWEH is salvation." Alright, this is pretty, normal? I mean a child is given to a mother when she shouldn't be having a child, which we've seen multiple times, Sarah, Hannah, Elizabeth, this isn't outside of one's imagination. The name was given by the Messenger, alright a bit strange, but not horribly so, if God's giving a child he kind of has a right to give the name as well. They still got the middle name right? But then looking at Luke 1.32-33 we see the purpose of this child, which is a lot different than what we've seen in the past.

"He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

Any Jew during this time will hear that and go, "It's about freaking time!"

Why? Because Gabriel just described what they call the Messiah, also known as the Christ to the Greeks. Properly translated we would call this person The King, or Lord. And yes, The was capitalized intentionally because this is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords that Gabriel is talking about. And he just told this young woman that she's going to give birth to him.

He's going to be called the Son of God. He's from the line of David, which is in the Tribe of Judah of which Jacob, Judah's father also known as Israel, said that the scepter will never leave Judah. He will rule over Jacob's house, which is the entire nation of Israel. And he's going to do that FOR-EV-ER. And his Kingdom will never end. All of this points to the Messiah, the Christ, The King.

This is the child that was promised to Mary. This is the birth that we are supposed to celebrate around this time. The coming of the Messiah, the promise of one who's name is YAHWEH is salvation. Who is the Son of YAHWEH, and also the bridge to him, the bridge to salvation. This child is a gift to us, and in him is hope and salvation, given to us by God so that we may be reconciled with him, adopted and brought into the New Israel, and letting his son rule over our lives.

This is what the Christmas season is all about, the anticipation and excitement of this particular child that was promised to us, and the celebration of his coming. So get excited, get hype, and prepare to celebrate the coming of our King.

The First Gift that was Promised.

Well Thanksgiving has gone by meaning now we can start into the Christmas stuff. Never before because we have to remember to be thankful for the gift that is given at Christmas. If I could get away with punching people in the face that start celebrating Christmas after Halloween I would do it. But I don't want a bunch of assault charges against me.

But since we're in the Christmas season I figured we could start a little series leading up to the reason for Christmas! With this series we'll be looking at the beginning of Luke for a couple reasons. 1) I like the book of Luke. 2) It gives us the most information leading up to the birth of Jesus. And 3) Luke is currently the only gospel I've read through since I started my new reading schedule last year. I'm almost through everything else though so then I get to read the other 3. Anyways, let's get started!

So starting in Luke 1.5-25, we see a man named Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth. They're old, they don't have any kids, and they've accepted it. They just go about their usual lives of a Priest and his wife. They were devote Jews, worshiping God and following his statues out of love and reverence for him. One day Zechariah goes into the temple to burn some incense and Lo! there's an angel standing there. Of course he's probably all majestic and formal standing there, but I like to picture him leaning against the alter, picking his fingers waiting for Zechariah to come in. When he does he looks up and goes, "Remain calm... Good news! What you want is going to happen! You're going to have a son! Here's all his stats."

Zechariah just looks at him, probably laughs a bit, then goes, "Na. My wife and I are old. Ain't gonna happen." Well the angel goes, "I'm Gabriel. The messenger for God himself. And because you're mocking God's messenger, and therefore God himself, you're not going to speak until your son is born. Laugh now!" And Zechariah can't speak. Eventually he goes home, and his wife becomes pregnant.

This is the first major event which leads to the beginning of a new age, a new religion, a new covenant between God and his people. This major event is the beginning of a man who will pave the way for Jesus and his ministry.

Looking at verses 14-17 we see the characteristics of this person, who will be named John, or as we know him, John the Baptist.

First off he's going to bring joy to people, because he will be great before the Lord, possibly meaning Jesus himself. He is going to come before Jesus, and will be a great prophet, or messenger from God to the people. He's going to be filled with the Holy Spirit and the message he will give will bring many to God. He'll have the power and spirit of Elijah, one of the greatest prophets in all of Israel's history. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill.

But then look at what Gabriel says about John, "...turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." From this I think what we can gather is that there are many people in Israel at the time who are unprepared to meet their God. They're neglecting their children, they have no care for justice or obedience to God. But John is coming to help restore these people to their proper position and calling. To care for widows and orphans, those less fortunate than themselves, to desire justice above all else, to love what God loves and hate what God hates. John is coming then to prepare people to hear the truth from God himself, taking these teachings and putting them into practice, preaching by action, not just words.

All of which will bring joy to the world, especially those that embody those very attributes because of their relationship with the one who holds salvation.

Praying for the Wicked

Friday in Paris there were some atrocious acts of terrorism performed by a terrorist group of extremist Muslims.

When I read the headlines it felt like I got punched in the stomach. I was instantly taken back to September 11, 2001 at about 4pm when I came home from school and found out about the attacks on our own soil. I imagined that kind of fear and that insecurity being felt by another nation on the other side of the world.

Friday night I had a Lock-in with the campus ministry I'm a part of, and I was speaking on our theme for the year. Basically our study is a more practical approach to the What Would Jesus Do? movement.

As I was writing the sermon, I was asking myself, how does God feel about these attacks? Obvious he is full of anguish and grief for the loss and the indifference towards human life. I'm sure like many of us when we heard the news, God likewise had a righteous anger towards those that committed these acts of terror and wanted to see them receive the just retribution of their actions.

But at the same time, unlike God, we forget that these terrorists are human as well. I know most would say, "People that act like that aren't human, they're monsters. They don't deserve the right to be called human." I in no way am attempting to justify their actions, I gave up attempting to justify sin a while back. But what I do want to do is inform that they believe they are going to bring about the apocalypse, and they act on their faith just as we Christians should act on our faith. This could lead to an entire other lesson, but I'm not going to go that route right now. What we do know is that these men and practitioners of Radical Islam obviously worship the wrong God.

So what we get if we boil it all down, is that the Radical Muslims are worshiping the wrong god and follow a perverted form of Islam. I'm not an expert on Islam, but I'm speaking from what I do know about it. And if we can bring their actions down to them being, in our view, pagans, then they are a people that are out of a restored relationship with God, the true God, who above all else desires a restored relationship with his children/creation. His creation also includes these Radical Muslims many of us call monsters and inhuman.

So Radical Muslims are no different than those that are lost. And their actions reflect their identity of that of a person that does not worship a peaceful and loving god. Again, I am not attempting to justify their sin, or saying that they do not deserve to go unpunished for their actions.

What I am attempting to prove though, is that these terrorists deserve our prayers just as much as the victims of their attacks do. And that is where we get controversial.

Romans 12.14, 17-21: Bless those that persecute you; bless and do not curse. Repay no evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so you will heap burning coals n his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Luke 6.27: But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

How much more clear could God be? Those that attack and murder are wicked, and their actions are wicked. But they are as in need of salvation as you or I. Even the wicked are called to repentance (Acts 17.30; 2 Peter 3.9).

So what I propose is that we begin to pray for the wicked. They are our enemies, and we are told outright that we are to pray for them. While our view of these people are that they are unworthy of salvation and grace and forgiveness, we must understand that we are too, and that just as God desired us to be reconciled with him, he also desired to be reconciled with them.

The Covenant

No. Not from Halo.

The Old Testament surrounds the Old Covenant.
The New Testament surrounds the New Covenant.
The events that fill both testaments follow the establishment of its respective covenant.

One thing I've been wanting to research recently are the two covenants, are they the same, are the different, is one a physical representation and the other the spiritual truth? These are answers currently above my pay grade. Maybe one day though.

But what I do want to focus on is that we who profess to be saved are in a covenant with God.

Covenant is one of those words that has a ton of meaning, but a simple definition. It means a promise. But it has so much more weight behind it.
When two people get married they enter into a covenant.
When parties sign a contract, they enter into a covenant.
When two friends shake hands and make a deal that loser gives up the sticks, they make a covenant.

God has initiated a covenant with us, through his son Jesus. We have an easy way into this covenant, this relationship, which is faith. And his promise is that in the end we win and we'll receive an inheritance that we didn't earn and we'll be able to be in the presence of God.

But more than that, we now have God living inside of us. Someone to help us get through anything that comes our way, be it escape, support, or sheer will power. God has made a promise to us, and he will not go back on it.

Check Yourself

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!"- 2 Corinthians 13.5

"And you, who were once alienated and hostile in mind, dong evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you have heard..."- Colossians 1.21-23

Lately I've been wrestling with the idea of the Old and New Covenant. The premise of covenant itself is quite simple, but the relation between the Old and New is something else entirely. But one aspect of the New Covenant is that we, as sinners, formally alienated from God because of our sin, can be reconciled with him, or brought into a better relationship with him.

In the Colossians text we can see that by continuing in the faith, we remain reconciled to God. But what does it mean to "remain in the faith?" That's a good question. I think the verse from 2 Corinthians helps us understand that. We need to test ourselves, make sure that we still have relation with Jesus. What is our relation marked by though? Well what is any relation marked by?

Being "Facebook Official." Talking every day. Seeing each other. Sharing with each other. Sacrificing for each other.

Looking at the end of the Gospel accounts we can see how Christ sacrificed for us.
Looking at our Facebook we can see our religious preference is set to "Christian."
But what abut talking? Do you honestly talk to Jesus every day? Do you have faith that he's listening?
Do you strive to see God on a daily basis? Do you see how he pours himself into the sunset that words can never do justice for?
Do you share with your Father the concerns, needs, joys and hopes that you have in your life?
Do you sacrifice anything for your relationship and faith? Do you sacrifice time to just spend it in the Word?
What about your reputation to pray over your meal thanking God for providing?
Do you ever even look at yourself, and put yourself to the test seeing what it is that Christ calls you to and if you fulfill that calling?

Examine yourself, and remain in the faith.

Out of Hope

Lately two words that I've been using a lot are "manifestation" and "stewardship." Talking about Religion as a verb will do that I guess.

Our entire theme for this year is about our actions that come from our relationship with God. Just as I act a certain way with my parents because of our relationship, or how I act with my girlfriend because of our relationship, so I act with God and all others because of our relationship.

My love for God leads for my love for others. And my love for others becomes manifest in my actions towards them and with them. I have been given salvation from God which includes his love, his grace, his forgiveness, his mercy, and I am now a steward of those, and I emulate them towards others.

But why?

I do this out of hope.

Recently I've read a couple different verses pertaining to working out of hope. In 1st Corinthians Paul writes about how we plow fields in hope for a crop. In Colossians he writes how the church in Colossae has faith in Christ and love for all their Christian brothers because of the hope they have for eternal life.

I have hope that through my stewardship of the salvation that God has given me, and the manifestation of my love for others through my actions they too can share in the joy that I find in my salvation. I hope that one day I can call them brother or sister.

It is out of Hope that I religion.

Do you have hope for something? Hope in Christ? Hope in Eternal life? Hope for salvation for all people? Are you acting on it?

Find out next time on Dragonball Z.

Or figure it out yourself, and do something about it.

Power in Simplicity

Things have been quite busy these past few weeks. Check my other blog to see a full recounting of the craziness that is campus ministry.

Recently I read through 1 and 2 Corinthians. Great books. When I started I read 1 Corinthians 1 and something stood out to me.

Many accused Paul of preaching "Cheap grace" and how salvation, "Can't be that simple." But I really like what he has to say in vv. 17-18, "For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

From these verses I gathered this truth: The Gospel message is simple. Yet it is powerful. The gospel message is as simple as saying that God put on flesh, came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and rose again three days later, all for our salvation. Incredibly simple words. Incredibly powerful meaning.

Everyone can understand the words given about the gospel, and everyone can understand that that is the message of the gospel. For those who have faith there is power in this message. But to those who aren't saved, it makes no sense.

A god? Became human? That makes no sense. Why would a god do that? And you claim it's the only god there is? The God? Your sovereign God? Your all powerful God? That's stupid to think that.

And he lived a perfect life? No one can live a perfect life. I mean I'm pretty good, but I'm not perfect, especially compared to the standard of living that your "God" gave. Even he failed in that.

He died on a cross? What? What God dies? Willingly even? Or even better, dies that kind of death? That kind of death was reserved for criminals! Those people are cursed and spat upon by all of mankind! That's like saying your God got the chair! It's reserved for murderers and thieves and rapists! Yet your God went through that? Even though he was perfect? Why?

Because he was raised up three days later? No. No one has ever come back from the dead after that long.

For my salvation? Salvation from what? I don't need salvation. I'm a pretty alright guy. Aren't I? 

The message of the cross is simple. It holds profound power, power which leads to life, salvation, reconciliation with God.

Those that don't believe in it see it as nothing but lies. Yet it is a message, that when accepted, changes everything. Take this message to those that need it this week. Give them a chance for life.

Remembering the Event

So today is September 11th, 2015. 14 years ago today, I was sitting in 5th grade, doing my usual morning routine. Every morning we had to do a DOL, or daily oral language. I have no idea why they call it oral, when we didn't ever talk. All we had to do was fix the grammatical mistakes in different sentences. After that we got to do a journal entry, I can't remember what it was. Then we had a brain buster is we got done with all of that. I was sitting next to a kid named Dominic. We both got done about the same time, were going through the brain buster which had us name things with holes in them. He calls the teacher over and goes, "A plan few into the World Trade Center this morning so there's a hole in that, can I use that?"

And that's how I first heard about what was happening in New York. Of course being only 11 years old I didn't think too much of it. As the day went on my class got smaller and smaller as parents left work to grab their kids and bring them home. Finally I remember coming home and my mom being there. At this time she never beat me home, so I was really confused. I walk in the house and CNN is on showing again and again planes flying into buildings.

Over the years I've heard people say there are some events they will never forget. I remember 9/11 incredibly well. My mom talks about how she remembers the day Kennedy died. Simmons in Transformers 3 says, "They'll ask 'Where were you when the transformers took over?'"

Throughout our lives we have events that take place that place a deep groove in our mind that stays there. First child, wedding day, traumatic events, random things that make shaped your thought on something.

For example, I don't like clowns. I'm not scared of clowns, I just don't like them. And this is why: When I was a kid I went to a birthday party. There was a clown there, he was boring, so I started playing with one of the maze things with a ball in it because I thought that was cooler than the clown. Well he saw me, got mad, came up took it away and told me to pay attention. To this day I don't like clowns because of that. Jerk.

What about our salvation? Sometimes yes, our salvation will seemingly take a while and we can't pinpoint, "That was when I was saved." Others can say, "June 22nd, 2010 is when I was saved." But there was an event, there was a series of events where we look back and see God redeeming us. Maybe bit by bit, chipping away at the block, or just taking a sledge hammer and shattering us with one hit. My question is how often do we look back to these moments? Do we get saved then just move on? Do we continually look back and compare now to then?

I like to talk about my salvation process and the event where I went, "I know I'm saved now." It weaves together a story for those listening, telling them who I am and where I came from and how I got to where I'm at now. My salvation is the event in my life where I go, "There I truly began to live. There I dedicated my life to whatever ministry God has called me to."

Look back through your life, look for your salvation event. If you can't find it, then you have a conversation with God that needs to take place. Self examination is a big aspect of Christianity, knowing who you are in this group of believers and also knowing who you are in relation to being a child of God. That event in your life should be bigger than 9/11, the day JFK was shot, the day you had your first child, all because everything else changes in relation to your change in relation to God.

Stewards

Last night we had our second CSF and I think it went pretty well. But I guess time will tell. We are still trying to find our groove though. But we'll get it.

What I talked about last night was what Religion as a verb means, and it's all about our actions stemming from our relationship with God. A part of what this includes is our stewardship.

What is stewardship? When it really comes down to it, stewardship is taking care of something. In Lord of the Rings we got Denethor who's the Steward of Gondor, he's supposed to take care of Gondor since there wasn't a king. Adam and Eve were supposed to take care of the Garden of Eden, but didn't.

We as Christians are stewards as well. All of us. Paul calls himself a steward of God's grace in Ephesians 3.2, Jesus makes us stewards of forgiveness in John 20.23, Paul says that we are stewards of reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5.

So what does all of this mean?

We have been given grace, forgiveness, have been reconciled to God, all by God. He then equips us for ministry (Ephesians 4.12) with different gifts, but also for the stewardship of the grace, forgiveness and reconciliation that he's given us.

Now we're not just supposed to take care of it. We're not just supposed to work out what it means to be saved with fear and trembling. Yes, we're supposed to do that, but John 20.23 shows us that Jesus gives our stewardship more responsibility than that. We take this gift that we've received, and we're supposed to demonstrate it to the world. We take this forgiveness and forgive those that sin against us just as God forgives us of our sin. We are gracious towards others just as God was gracious towards us. We work to restore the relationship between us and those that have wronged us because God has restored our relationship, he has reconciled us.

Look through your life and see what God has done for you, and imitate it. Show those around you what God has done in your life by replicating it in theirs, leading them to see your restored relationship with God and therefore leading them to their own.

"Speak, for your servant hears"

This morning I was doing my reading, and I usually hate doing things on what I'm doing personally, but I think this is a good one. But I was reading 1 Samuel 3 today, and Samuel is there laying in the temple and three different times he hears someone call him. Each time he thinks it's the priest Eli. Finally on the third time Eli goes, "God's trying to speak to you."

So God calls Samuel again, and his response is, "Speak, for your servant hears."

As I read this I noticed a couple of things.

1) Samuel was kinda a jerk, commanding God to speak.
2) Samuel was really humble, calling himself God's servant.
3) Samuel states that he is listening.

How often do we hear God speak in our lives? And how often do we ignore his call?

Sometimes when God speaks to us it's just a simple point.

"I love you."

Other times he's telling us what we need to do.

"Go to Altoona and do campus ministry."

Or even don't do.

"Don't move home."

God speaks to us on a daily basis. Sometimes we think it's someone else telling us to do something. When I was debating if I should come to Altoona or not I had a couple other people telling me I should stay in Pittsburgh, or move back to Columbus, or just get out of campus ministry in general. Each person had a valid reason for their thought, but overall the reason was more selfish than anything else. So as I prayed over my situation I asked God what he wanted me to do. And I head others calling me. But unlike Samuel, I didn't think that they were being a voice for God, I didn't mix them up. I heard each voice clearly, and knew where God was calling me.

As you go throughout your week, listen for your name. God is calling you somewhere, either to stay, go forward, or back. Listen for God's call, and know when you're being called by others.

A Psalm a day keeps your brain in pain

I don't REALLY mean that title. But in the same way I kind of do, for myself. Everyone has things they really like in the Bible, while everyone has things they don't. I just read in one of my text books about a possible purpose for genealogies in the Bible. It was short and only an example, but it was in there! Some people like the history in the Old Testament, seeing the changing of Israel over time and seeing God's plan come to completion. Other's enjoy prophets, the imagery, the analogies, the message, the points in the text, sometimes obvious other times less evident. Personally I really enjoy the Epistles. They're full of theology and while reading them I take my time to find out what is really being said in the complicated language that it's in. On the flip side, a lot of people have things they don't like in the Bible. Not that they think it's bad, but they just have trouble with it. For me, it's the Psalms. They're very poetic and I have a hard time with that. So to attempt to remedy this I decided to read a Psalm a day with my other reading taking me to one OT chapter, one NT chapter, and a Psalm. I've been doing this for a while now, but I've had periods of not reading, or skipping some, so today I just read Psalm 57.

But the one that I want to look at today is Psalm 39. That was one of the days where I actually got a good bit out of it. I encourage you to go read it now, and tell me if you see this outline that I saw.

This is a Psalm of David, when and why it was written I have no idea.

But in verses 1-3 I saw David saying this: That he is discontent with God. He kept himself mute, trying not to say anything against God, but his anger grew and finally he spoke to God. Verse 4 shows us what he said, which came down to he wanted to be humbled. "Let me know how fleeting I am!"

Verses 5-6 have David acknowledging how men are truly nothing compared to the only thing that matters, that is God.

7-11 shows him confessing that he is absolutely powerless in the grand scheme of things, even in saving himself.

Which takes us to 12-13 where David begs God for his salvation, peace, and joy.

Sometimes when we read, things are plain, other times they make no sense. We take them as they come and trust that God is telling us exactly what we need to hear when we need it.

Behind Enemy Lines

I would have to say that the second biggest OSU rivalry is with Penn State.
My mom went to OSU for a degree.
My brother went to OSU for two.
My dad has worked, and I believe still is working, on OSU's campus for different building projects.
I grew up not 30 minutes from campus. Every Saturday a game was on TV, or the radio if we weren't home.

One can say that OSU is in my blood. I bleed Scarlet and Gray.

But now I'm a campus minister in Altoona, PA, an hour south of State College, the main campus of Penn State, at a Penn State branch campus. Whenever I meet someone in this new town one of the first things they ask me is, "Where are you from?" to which I respond, "Columbus" because no one will know where my home town is. As soon as I say Columbus, I get crap about being an OSU fan, and how I'll need to convert to Penn State.

Where I'm from has given me part of my identity. I am identified here as an OSU fan. Not just a campus minister, or even as myself. I'm the Ohio State fan. And I'm behind enemy lines.

Recently I had a class on the Doctrine of Salvation, and while we're sitting around a table talking about a lot of big concepts, we get on the subject of atonement. Now before this, I haven't thought a lot about what I believed about atonement theories. But I did come to the realization that I never believed in penal substitution atonement.

But there's a lot there and I don't want to get into that. Let's just suffice it to say that I don't believe in that form of atonement.

Instead I believe in Identification Atonement. Or, I identify with Christ, and because of that I am forgiven. And because I identify with Christ, I am counted as righteous as him. I am now his ambassador, a fellow minister with him of the ministry of reconciliation. I am a new creation! And though I am in a world that is broken and full of sin and the consequences of sin, I still identify with Christ. I am behind enemy lines, and I make it known because I am proud of that fact.

I'm proud to be a Buckeye, and I'm more proud to be a disciple of Jesus!

Communion Part 3- The Party

A month ago today I wrote a post titled, "Sell the Master" which focused on being able to tell others about God because of the great feast we will have at the wedding banquet.

Well today I want to look at the feast.

As we've been looking at, communion was instituted during a feast. So it's like we're still partaking in the feast today whenever we have communion.

Across all cultures the breaking of bread together, the act of eating a meal together is always a time of peace, even if those partaking are enemies. There are of course some exceptions, see Godfather part 1, but overall the breaking of bread together is done with friends, family, people close to you.

A wedding feast is a celebration with friends and family.
A Passover feast is celebrated among family.
A after church lunch is a time of fellowship with family and friends.

Communion is breaking bread, with God in his house. He brings us into his home, and asks us to break bread with him. This is what he does for a friend.

Romans 5 tells us that while we were still enemies Christ died for us, and because of that we now have peace with God. We are no longer in open rebellion or at war with him. And now, having come into the saving grace of Christ, we reap the benefits of his righteousness, and are at peace with God. Because of that he invites us over every week, to come into his house, and take part in the meal that celebrates our freedom from slavery, with which we look forward to our coming resurrection.

Hopefully this week I've given you a lot to reflect on concerning communion, and when you take it on Sunday you don't sit there and think, "What should I be focusing on?" or "Where am I going to lunch afterwards?" Instead, focus on the salvation that comes from Christ, and celebrate it with the bread and the cup, knowing that you are proclaiming the death and resurrection of God's only son, and because of that your sin has been defeated.

Communion pt. 2

WARNING: GAME OF THRONES SPOILERS AHEAD

At the end of the finale of this past season on Game of Thrones, Jon Snow got stabbed. A lot. All the major sources are saying, "Yes, he's dead. As sure as Winter is coming, he is dead." Everyone is freaking out, thinking that the true hero is gone, but throughout the show we've seen resurrection. 

A note that I've made on some forums about Jon Snow's death is this: You cannot have resurrection without death. This I got from 2 Corinthians 4.10: Always carrying in [our] body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

We carry the death of Jesus in our body, so that we can carry his life as well. But how can we carry both life and death? Doesn't death come after life and death is final? No. Because we have the resurrection. And you cannot have resurrection, a permanent state, without death, turned from a permanent state into an non-permanent state because of the resurrection.

What does this have to do with communion?

Monday we looked at where Communion came from, and we ended with Paul writing in 1 Corinthians 11.26: For as often as you eat of this bread and drink of this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

Connecting this back to what was said on Monday, We proclaim the death of an innocent, a firstborn, we remember the sacrifice made, so that we could have life and freedom from slavery. 

But it's more than that. The Passover celebration is a meal, a feast! Think Thanksgiving for Jews, but kosher, and with lamb. For the Jew's it's a time of celebration and anticipation; celebrating their deliverance, but also looking forward to the coming Messiah. For us, Christians, we take part in the feast every week now, and it's an act of remembrance of the sacrifice made for our deliverance, but ti's also a victory meal, still looking back at our deliverance and Jesus' triumph over sin!

So while we proclaim his death each time we take communion, we also celebrate his resurrection and his victory. Today I read 1 Corinthians 15. There are four distinct passages there. Three over resurrection proving that one, Christ is risen, we too shall rise with him, and that we will be given new bodies that will not perish. The final passage is about the victory over sin and death, which comes from the resurrection, from Christ's resurrection. If you truly believe in the Risen Christ then this is a cause for celebration! If you truly believe that you were completely condemned to death because of your sin this is cause for celebration! The resurrection of Christ opened the door for us to life! 

And this is what we proclaim every time we take communion. 

We remember where we were in our slavery to sin. We remember the sacrifice and death of Christ, which we proclaim by taking the bread which was broken like his body, and drinking the juice which was poured out like his blood. But we also celebrate the resurrection of Christ, which brings new life to us.

Communion Part 1

Just yesterday, Sunday August 2nd, I saw just how habitual and ritualistic the church I go to while in Pittsburgh is. An elder got up to do the communion thing, they don't do meditations, just recite the "On the night be was betrayed he took bread, broke it..." passage. Which can be fine, if done properly. Well it's not at this church. It was easy to tell that the elder had his mind elsewhere while taking communion that day because he ended up in a prayer talking about tithing, and asking God to let others give as we do. Or something like that. I got busy thinking about what I was going to say when I jumped up there to take it over because this guy didn't care.

So this week I want to look at communion. We'll probably just do 3, but there's a lot that can be said about communion.

But today I want to look at what it is.

Communion was instituted by Christ, on the night of the Passover feast. What does that mean?

In the OT, the Israelites escaped Egypt after God had rained down 10 plagues on the country, all of which didn't effect the Jews. The last plague was the killing of the first born. But if the Jews did a certain action, God passed over their house and didn't kill their first born (hence the name "Passover"). Every year Jews would gather together, and still do, to celebrate God passing over their house, allowing their first born children to live, and delivering them from slavery. They do this once a year.

This is the feast where Jesus took bread and broke it, passing it around to his disciples, and did the same with the cup (but he didn't break it apart else juice would get everywhere).

So every week then, when we take communion, we are celebrating God's wrath passing over us, onto a first born, and us coming out of slavery.

Or...

Ever week, we celebrate God unleashing his wrath because of our sin, onto his own firstborn son. And because he unleashed his wrath onto his son, we have a chance to escape the slavery of sin.

Which brings us to the place of, "For as often as you eat of this bread and drink of the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes."

Wednesday we will expand on this idea more, what it means to proclaim the death of Christ every Sunday. But for today, all I want to leave you with is this:

When we take communion we celebrate the freedom from sin that God has graciously given us by passing over us and pouring his wrath out upon his own firstborn. This is part of what we are to reflect on as we take communion regularly.

Equal and Opposite Reactions

So while in high school I took a year of simple physics because I'm not good at science. One thing that we obviously went through are Newton's Three Laws of Motion. When I was taking karate in the past we talked about the 3rd Law a lot as well.

What Newton's 3rd Law of Motion says is this: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

If you're pushing forward against a block, you're also pushing away from the ground with equal force. If you throw a punch with one arm the other goes back with the same force.

What does this have to do with Christians?

1 Corinthians 4.12b-13: When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

Well that sucks.

I don't know about you, but I've been attacked for my faith before. Not in a major way, but I have endured some slander and ridicule for my beliefs. There was a force that was pushing against me, and the only thing I could do was react, in an equally measured way opposite of what they were doing.

I'm told that I'm stupid for believing in a god, I give my reasons for my belief.
I'm called a bigot, one who is intolerant of another view, I tell of how I'm open for other views on different events such as the beginning of all things.
I'm told I'm intolerant of same sex marriage, I show how I'm accepting of all people no matter their religion, sexual orientation, or political views.

I'm not a push over, I'm not one that takes things lying down. I push back which someone pushes against me, I give them a reaction, but it's not full of hate and fear and intolerance of another view like theirs is.

I have been saved by Jesus from my sin, my anger, my need to always be right. I have been given peace by him, and now I attempt to pass it on to those around me.

No  matter what you go through in the coming week, months, years, no matter how bad people are to you; bless, endure, entreat. We may be the scum of the world, the least respected at times, but I'm alright with that. My citizenship is not here, but in Heaven.

When they attack you with hate, attack them with love. Always pass on the love you have received from Christ.

Let's get practical

So today I want to do something a bit different. Want to give tips and tricks, or to use a popular term, hacks, to reading the Bible.

Today I was reading through Zechariah. I have a strange infatuation with the Minor Prophets. Just really enjoy reading them on a regular basis. Anyways, as I'm reading it I'm seeing connections to other Minor prophets that I've read.

Today I just read chapter 10 and I noticed that it was very reminiscent of the entirety of Zephaniah. The point that I got out of Zephaniah was the future restoration and characteristics of Israel. Really the New Israel, or us Christians. Not just in chapter 10 though, but also chapter 8. I also noticed that the first half of chapter 9 sounded a lot like Amos. And looking forward to chapter 11 sounds a lot like Amos as well, all about justice from God.

All throughout scripture connections can be made between books, chapters, verses, passages, etc. God speaks to us in this way. While reading Zechariah I made a connection between 6.12-13 and Ephesians 2, which I connected with 1 Corinthians 3, Ezra, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 Peter 2. It's a running theme about the Temple.

How did I make these connections? Well first off God is revealing them to me which I greatly appreciate. But I also take notes, write, underline, and draw in my Bible. You can always tell when I read a book because 1 I check it off at the table of contents, but also the pages are usually pretty torn up with ink. There is one page that is literally torn up because my cat decided to attack it. But whatever. Little demon.

Like I've said before and I'll say again, I love getting into the Word. I love growing in the Knowledge of God. And one of the best ways to do that is to visibly wrestle with the text. When you get into the Bible, and I highly encourage you to do so, grab a pen that you're going to like, because you'll be using it a lot, and run it dry. God a question? Put brackets around it and put a question mark in the margin. Like what something says? Underline it. See a connection to something else you've read? Underline and write on the side the connecting scripture. Idea for a Bible study? Find a blank page or semi blank page and write it down with the scripture. Can you summarize a verse or concept? Do it.

Get that pen to bleed on those pages. When it's all filled up grab another Bible and get to work on that one. Get into the Word every day, wrestle with the text, cover those pages in notes and questions, underlines and highlights.

Then see how you relationship with God grows.

Does whatever a Sandwich can

Last night I went to VBS, then came home, then went and got gas, and finally went to eat dinner. At like 9:30 at night. I went to Primanti Bros. and got a When Pigs Fly sandwich which had turkey, ham, bacon, and an egg on it. It you don't know what a Primanti sandwich is like, it also comes with fries and coleslaw on it and a slice of cheese, all on two thick slices of Italian bread.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it all again... Gotta focus.

But I was sitting there, by myself, waiting for my food to come out and I just got a big smile on my face. No idea why. It was just really odd, just a big smile on my face. I was alone so it wasn't anyone with me. There were people around by they didn't give me a reason to smile. I've only been to Primanti's a few times so it wasn't an incredibly good memory.

But I was just filled with Joy. And I realized my joy came from having God in my life.

My past three weeks have been pretty nuts. Two weeks of camp back to back, then my girlfriend was in town, and finally this week I got back into my routine of regular time spent with God, and I loved it. Getting into his Word, reading, hearing what he has to say to me, I was joyful because of the relation that we have.

Yes, I can always do better. I'll freely admit my prayer life sucks, and it's something I continually try to work on, but it's hard for me. But sitting and reading scripture for a few hours? Love every second of it.

So as I sat there staring at this gigantic sandwich in front of me, with a stupid big smile on my face, I remembered that God has given me freedom from my sin. All because of his love for me and mine for him. We have been reconciled, we've come back together, and we're growing our relationship day by day. And this brings me joy that can't be explained.

Recently I read through Psalm 40. Psalm 18 is probably my favorite, but as of right now 40 is a close second, though I'm only on 44.

But this is what stuck with me in Psalm 40. Verses 6-17 are telling of God's salvation of David. 13-15 talk about how those around him mock him and try to take his life. But then in verses 16 and 17 David says this:

But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the LORD!"

As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!

Those that seek God rejoice and are glad in him. My joy comes from seeking God daily. 

I love the salvation he has given me, and daily I say "Great is the LORD!"

I really am poor. And I have great needs. But I take comfort in the fact that God thinks of me and not only that but also takes care of me.

He helps me through all things, and delivers me from my sin.

And in all of this I find great joy.

Seek God daily. Take joy in what he gives, especially your salvation.

Have joy that comes from the Lord.

Sell the Master

A few weeks ago when I was at camp I got to teach a lesson on the Banquet in relation to the marriage between Christ and the Church. I had a hard time figuring out what I was going to say about a marriage banquet to about 20-30 high school boys, but eventually it came to me.

Look at Matthew 22.1-14.

That was our text for the week, and that's what I looked at for my lesson. In the parable this is what happens.

A master is having a feast and invites all his friends via a servant. They all decline because they have "better things to do."
The servant comes back, tells the master that, he gets mad and sends the servant out to everyone else, all those who weren't his friend. And the servant goes.
The house gets packed with everyone else. The homeless, the drunks, the poor, the needy, the people you just don't want around.

And here's what I got.

God is our master, we are the servant, and the lost are the people we invite.
We go to those that think they have God, and we present the true Gospel to them but they blow us off because "Oh we got it already." (Reminds me of a time I was holding a Bible study at KCU, a guy in my section walks through and I ask if he wants to join to which he replies, "No I've had my fill of Jesus today.")
So God passed on his ministry to the masses, the ones that no one wanted to deal with because they matter too.
In the parable the servants are selling something, they're selling the feast. "Oh yeah there's gonna be all this awesome food, and good drinks, and a huge room for everyone to fit, with music, dancing, and it's gonna be an awesome time!"
Except the servants aren't selling just the party.

They're selling the Master. "He's rich, he pulled out all the stops, this is going to be off the hook because our Master put it all together!" And they continue to talk up the master and his greatness.

We're taking to gospel to the world, to bring them to the best party ever. And we're selling the one that sent us, we're selling God to them. He is the party, he is the feast, he is everything. He's the True Bread, the Living Water, "Taste and see the the LORD is good!" (Psalm 34).

We are telling the world of God and his wondrous works. In order to do that properly we have to know him in a highly personal and close way.

Think about Acts 19 and the Sons of Sceva. These are good Jewish boys, not followers of Christ, and they're going around trying to cast out demons. Except they're trying to do it in the name of Jesus. But they don't know Jesus. So it's, "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims!" or "I command you by this person that I heard of from this one guy one time!" Know how the story ends? The demon says, "Jesus I know and Paul I heard of, who are you?" then the 7 Sons of Sceva get "mastered" (possibly dominated like my cat does with his stuffed bear) and they run out of the house naked.

They were trying to present a Jesus they didn't know, and it backfired on them. I know a woman who tries to evangelize but she doesn't truly know who God or Christ is because she just recites what her priest tells her to.

The sons of Sceva and that woman don't know the master or the feast so they can't sell them properly without getting torn to shreds by people.

This means only one thing: Know what you're selling. We're all called to witness and testify about God. But we can only do that properly by knowing God, knowing what he has to offer, knowing what he can give others. And we can only know that by partaking in it, by tasting and seeing that he is good. Then we can go to others and say, "I've tried it, I've tasted and I've seen that God is good. He has so much to offer you. Come join the party."

How we do this is through prayer, fasting, getting into the word, and opening our lives to God and what he can do. So go out, see what God can do in our life, and let him. Learn who he is, and tell the world of what he has to offer. Sell the Master.

Be the Letter

I'm in campus ministry. I've been in youth ministry. I've been an RA and I've been discipled. I've played a lot of different roles in a lot of different places.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 writes that the church in Corinth is his letter of recommendation, they are the proof that he is the real deal. What he's fighting against are "super apostles" coming with letters of recommendation and leading the church astray. But Paul writes that he poured himself out for that church, that they are the proof that he is an Apostle of God.

Another verse that connects to this idea is that of 1 Thessalonians 2.19-20. "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? For you are our glory and joy."

You are our boast. We don't boast about you, or the work in you that was accomplished. We just present you. This is so profound for me.

I make disciples. And my hope in making disciples is that they go our and make disciples who make disciples. That is the point of discipleship. My students that I had and will have will be my resume, my letter of recommendation, my proof that I can do what God has called me to do. And they are my joy and glory. I take joy in the work that God has enabled me to do. They go out into the world and speak of Jesus and what he has done in their life. They have become disciples and go out to witness and disciple the world for Christ.

All this is being said because many of you go to church, you sit there on Sunday's, listen to sermons, go to Bible studies, and you apply it to your life. But sometimes you slip up, other times you do things on purpose and you don't live a life according to the calling you have received. Sometimes you do well as a letter of recommendation, you are the joy of your teachers, and other times you fall short. We all do. But we are to strive to reciprocate the righteousness that Christ has given us.

Take a close look at your actions, and see if your youth minister, your Sunday School Teacher, the people who disciple you would approve of them. If so, keep on keeping on. If not, it might be time to reevaluate.

Also! Next blog is my 100th! Got something you want me to write on? Tell me! And we'll go with it!

Religion the Verb

So I've been hired (I think, they can't pay me but I'm hired?) as campus minister at Altoona, PA. Woo! And I've been thinking about what I want to talk about during the year n'at. And I've decided to talk about Religion as a Verb.

Today many talk about how "I'm spiritual but not religious." Well religion really is no more than practicing your faith, or spirituality. And as James says, "Faith without works is dead" which I would translate in this case to "spirituality without works is dead" or even better put, "spirituality without religion is dead.

Many that hate religion will argue "Religion is the reason for the war in the Middle East, the Crusades, Spanish Inquisition," etc. etc. True. But all of those are not the religion that Christ has called us to.

During my time thinking about what to talk about and what to focus on for the year I've come to this conclusion.

We must understand GRACE in order to RELIGION properly.

What?

What I mean is this. James calls a religion that God views as pure and blameless as one that takes care of the widows and orphans. One that loves people and acts on that love. But we can't love people without God because God is love and anyone that loves has to know God. And if you know God, truly know God, you can't help but love him. (I don't mean fully know him, because your head will explode, but actually know him and have a relationship with him and grow in knowing him daily.) The greatest commandment is also to love people with all we have, but more importantly to love God with all we have. To live out our faith. To act like we're saved. To religion.

To believe in Christ, to die and come back to life with him, To trust in him is to have faith and by having faith we have salvation. To have salvation we need grace, because it is by grace we are saved. To receive grace we need faith. See Ephesians 2.8-9 and Romans 10. Those are the two off the top of my head I know there are more. By receiving grace we also receive Christ's righteousness as our own, giving us his perfection making us perfect in God's eyes. See Romans 8. Faith leads to grace, leads to salvation, leads to righteousness, leads to perfection, and we are to live as if we are saved, as if we have faith, as if we are righteous. Live the righteousness that Christ has given you. These are big truths, hard truths to understand, but they are true.

To live as if we are saved is to practice our faith. And we can only practice our faith perfectly if we understand grace. And understanding grace and living as if we have been given grace is to religion.

We must understand grace to religion properly.

I encourage you to live as if you are saved, to religion properly, to love those that God loves and act on it.

He doesn't go back on his promises, so praise him.

So the past two weeks I've been at camp, and this week I have my girlfriend visiting the 'Burgh so my schedule is a bit filled. But I'm going to be updating this definitely today (Wednesday) and probably Friday as well. One way or another.

Also, yes, the Supreme Court made same sex marriage legal in all states. If you want to see my thoughts on the idea of same sex marriage look here. If you want to know my thoughts on how we, as Christians should act, especially with other Christians that disagree with your OPINION look here.

Recently I've been reading through the Minor Prophets. For some reason I really enjoy them, short books that are messages from God to his people. One of the more recent one's that I read was Habakkuk. I can never say that one correctly, but whatever.

Here's the outline that I see in this book, or sermon, or even series of sermons.

Habakkuk: God! Bad stuff is happening!
God: I'll take care of it. I promise.
H: God! More bad stuff!
G: My promises will take place.
H: Alright, let me pray.
H: Now let me rejoice and praise you you.

The overarching theme that I see is this: Crap happens. God promises and will come through on them. So praise him always.

Monday on my other blog I talked about the two weeks at camp and how I was a bit irresponsible and destroyed my throat by yelling. But I also talked about how God provided me with volume when needed. Later that night I got a text from a cousin of mine telling me how she's going through a lot of stuff and how my blog helped her a bit. I didn't think that was going to happen, but God uses what he wants. And I go, "Okay!"

But the point of that is that sometimes, a lot of times, our lives get tough. Crap happens. We hate it. We think God has abandoned us. For the record I don't believe in Karma because if Karma was real I'd be dead by now. Also God gives us grace which is not what we deserve, but gave Jesus the cross which he didn't deserve, so God doesn't always give people what they deserve, which is the entire point of Karma.

But God does promises us, those that follow him, a few things. One big one is that suffering will come. And he doesn't go back on his promises. He also promises that suffering will be good for us, and without it we cannot inherit his glory. And he doesn't go back on his promises. Another promise is that we are his temple and that his Spirit lives in us. And he doesn't go back on his promises. He promises that he will be with us forever. And he doesn't go back on his promises. He promises eternal life with him for those that live and die with him. And he doesn't go back on his promises.

And because he doesn't go back on his promises we should praise him always and always rejoice in him.

Peace!

The concept of peace is a big one throughout scripture. I'm fairly certain I touched on it before in relation between us and Christ. But that's not the peaceful relationship I want to touch on today.

Ephesians 2.14-16: For he himself (Jesus) is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

The entire point of this section of Ephesians is about the unity, or oneness, in Christ. It could be assumed that Paul is writing about the Jew/Gentile relations, but the main thing is that it expands to us today.

A while back I was interviewing with a church, and had a conversation with the minister. We disagreed on the finer points of baptism, and because of that I was not hired. Which was for the better because it brought me to where God needed me, despite what some people think. But while we disagreed, we still are able to have fellowship between us as brothers in Christ because we both have Jesus, our peace.

All throughout the world there are different groups of Christians, which we can call denominations, but some would go as far as to say that some are even other religions such as Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity. I still call them denominations. Some would be willing to have fellowship and would call me a brother if we sat down and had a conversation. Why? Because Jesus is our peace. He's the central truth, the common bond, the one thing that we can both agree on. If there's hostility between us, then chances are we don't agree on who Jesus is. And that's a problem.

As Christians we are called to be united in Christ. Meaning that we identify as Christians, little Jesus' running around, doing Jesus like stuff like telling people about this God and his Son who is our king. And that's what we should focus on. Jesus as our King that was crucified and rose again. And because of that we can go to ex-Muslims that we may have been scared of in the past and welcome them as brothers and sisters. We can shake hands with once rapist that found Christ, repented, and begged our forgiveness from inside a jail cell. We can embrace the man that murdered a loved one of ours for drug money, or because they get behind the wheel of a car impaired. All because we recognize the transforming power of the cross, which kills the hostility between us and those that have hurt us, shamed us, or even disagree with us.

The power of the cross not only has the power to change our personal lives, but also the relationships that we find ourselves in, be them good or bad. I got bullied a lot in high school, and I just gritted my teeth and took it. I had a hatred for the people, and that's the proper use of the word. I hated them. But through the transforming power of the cross I have forgiven them, even if they don't think they've done anything wrong. But I know that if any one of them came to me and told me that they accepted Christ I wouldn't even mention the past because it's gone, I've forgiven them, and the only thing that matters to me is the peace that stands between us that is Christ.

So no matter who you disagree with, no matter what it's on, if you can agree on who Christ is, you can have peace.

Say what you mean, hear what they say

Few years back the Dark Knight came out and everyone was blown away at how great of a movie it was. In the following years that led up to the Dark Knight Rises a lot of speculation was going around as to who the new villains were going to be, especially since Heath Ledger's death. Two of the possibilities that everyone kept throwing about were Catwoman, with no one sure as to who was going to play her, and Johnny Depp as the Riddler. The later was stated as fact by just about anyone you talked to. Why? Because of an interview with Depp, in which he said, "It's not like I'm going to be playing the Riddler or anything." There are other reasons why this rumor was circulated, but I remember reading this interview in an article and after that was written the author stated, "That's right! You heard it here first! Johnny Depp is confirmed as the Riddler!"

That's not at all what he just said dude! He said the exact opposite of what you stated!

I know a lot of people, myself included, that tend to say things they don't mean. One big example is with the word "literally." "I literally rammed her off the road." Why aren't you in jail for attempted vehicular homicide? "Well I didn't really do it." Then why did you say "Literally?"

Or not answering the question that you're asked. Or not asking the question you meant. I had guy in class come up to me one time and asked how I liked the thermos I was using. "It ain't bad, really hate the lid though, doesn't flow well." He responded with, "That's not what I asked, I asked how you liked the fact that it'll keep your coffee hot for 4 hours?" No dude. That's not what you asked.

I ask someone when they're going to be here. "Well I gotta do this, and this, and this, and this." Alright, so what time are you going to be here?

I've seen people post things on facebook bashing others and encouraging others to do the same, then two days later turn right around and say that everyone needs to support the people they were just bashing. Dude, make up your freaking mind and quit contradicting yourself. You're making yourself look like an idiot.

This may just be a pet peeve of mine, and for some reason I feel like I've talked about this before, but skimming my previous posts I don't think I've written on this, but hey, If I did oh well.

There is a problem in today's society where we cannot say what we mean. Either we're incapable of it, we don't know how, or we don't want to offend anyone. One of the biggest issues I have with America at the moment is the idea of "tolerance." All religions must be tolerant of everyone else! Except Muslims because we have to be tolerant of them. And the non-religious because they don't do anything wrong or hate on anyone. That is except the religious because they are always hating on people so it's wrong therefore we can hate on them and tell them to be tolerant.

Really? Do you hear what you're saying?

Then we have Christians that complain constantly about the size of their church, or how other Christians live, and yet do nothing about it because, "well that's not my job to correct them." Or if you do go up against someone and try to tell them that they're messing up and need to get back on track, "Only God can judge me! Judge not lest you also be judged!" They throw scripture at you because they try to justify their sin.

How do we stop this?

Jesus made it pretty clear. "Let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no."

Say what you mean. And expect that from others. Whenever someone tells me something I take it at face value.

"I just gonna hit her in the face." Alright we need to find constructive ways to make sure you don't hit people in the face. "Well I don't mean I'm really going to." Then why did you say you were? If you want to, that's fine, I want to hit people all the time. but saying that you're going to? Well that's a different story and we need to talk about that. Say what you mean, let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no.

Now two more things in this more or less devotional rant.

"Well you can't tell anyone that they can't do something because Matthew 7 Jesus says not to judge or you'll likewise be judged!" Yes, properly translated it does say that. But judge has different meanings. In this sense it indeed means "Condemn not, or else you will be condemned." It's not just saying "Hey that's bad you shouldn't do that!" It's an admonishment against "You're going to go to hell for that!" Really? Are you God? Are you going to be the one that says who goes to heaven and who goes to hell? I don't think so. John 7.24 says the exact opposite of Matthew 7.1, "Judge with right judgement."

Is Jesus contradicting himself? Well if he is there 1) Christianity is worthless and Atheists are right and 2) we have every reason to say conflicting statements and look like idiots. But no, Jesus isn't contradicting himself. Instead he is saying don't condemn anyone, don't pass the judgement, the sentence on them. But instead judge righteously, informing a brother or sister, "Hey, that isn't good for your relationship with God." If is see a brother who's having sex outside of marriage, or cheating on his wife, or hitting on girls while married, I'm obligated to say something to them. I can't just let that get swept under the rug because I'm "not supposed to judge." I'm supposed to go to him and help him first see how Christ explicitly commands us to abstain from that kind of behavior, then help him to not be that kind of person. I can't say man because he'd be acting like a boy at that point.

The second thing is this. Before you shout "Hypocrite!" at me realize this. I know I am. I do most of these things too, I say what I don't mean and don't answer questions that I'm asked, and ask the wrong questions, and hear what's not being said. But I recognize that, and attempt to make myself more Christ like by letting my "yes" be yes and my "no" be no, by saying what I mean, answering what's asked, hearing what's being said. There's a big step in maturity where you admit that you are a sinner, that you are a hypocrite, but also that you're working with Christ to get out of that rut. I'm not trying to toot my own horn (haha I said toot) but I really do believe that this is a standard of what it means to be a mature Christian. Maybe next week I'll do a series on what it means to be a mature Christian. That'll be cool.

My challenge for you is this: Say what you mean. Let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no. Don't contradict yourself. Don't condemn, but judge rightly, and not by outside appearances.

"I got this"

One of my favorite shows of all time is Sons of Anarchy.

There's one episode in particular, that while I teared up watching it still is one of the best episodes in the show. The club got on the wrong side of a Oakland gangster who has the new president, his two closest friends, and another member all put in prison. The deal for them is this: Tig stays insides to rot, one has to die, and the other two can go. Jax can't decide who to give up, and it seems as if he's about to be the one to volunteer to go, but his best friend in the whole world steps up and takes it. Earlier in the episode before we see him, long hair, big beard, cutting wood to make something, giving off the image of a carpenter. Now he's volunteering to die so the rest of his friends can live. The last words spoken by him are him looking in the window at his brothers and saying three simple words, "I got this." He took the situation in his own hands, and went through it himself so that his brothers, the ones that he loved, could live.

Throughout my years I've come to known addicts. Some got clean, some didn't, some are on their way, some are in jail, some are probably dead. And it's sad. It breaks my heart wondering, "What if in some way I could have prevented this?" But that's not the question that needs to be asked. The question that needs to be asked is this, "How can I help them now?"

Those that I clean, I guarantee you that if we sat down with them and talked with them about how they got over their addiction they would all say the same thing. "With the love and support of those around me." It's not something they did on their own, they did it with the help of those surrounding them.

As a minister you would expect me to remember every sermon I've ever heard. Not true. I remember like 4, not including the one from this week. I'll forget that one by Sunday. But one of the few sermons I remember was an off the cuff sermon, where the dude crumbled up his notes and threw them away and talked about exactly what needed to be talked about. "You don't got this. You can't do it." It got depressing. Like that's not what people are supposed to say in sermons is it? You're supposed to fill us up, empower us, make us feel good about being in church and doing our Christian duty! Not tell us that we can't do it! And not do what by the way? Wait, we can't make it through life on our own? We can'ts survive on our own? What are you talking about man! Doesn't the Bible say that God helps those who helps themselves? Doesn't Jesus say that we gotta work for our own survival and salvation? Sure he made it a bit easier but it's us that have to live a certain way to maintain it right? God's not going to take care of us, we take care of ourselves, and maybe God will give us a little more if we go to church on a regular basis and give money right? You can't say that we can't do it! That's wrong!

And as this conversation is going through my head and I'm asking myself these questions and wondering what the hell this guy is saying I really start listening. All things have come from God, the very air that we breathe is a gift from God. He has given us enough grace that we can just live, and more than that he is offering us more grace so that we can be with him for eternity and not suffer the eternal consequences of our sin. I flip open my bible and run across Psalm 86.17 verses of David relying on God in all things.

Monday I wrote about how we need to depend on God. But why? Because we can't do it on our own. Our very life is a gift. We live in a broken world where things go wrong all the time because there is sin. Not just I suffer because of my sin. I suffer because of my parents sin, my siblings sin, my neighbors sin, my coworkers sin, my old bosses sin, Adam and Eve's sin. There's no way to escape it, or the consequences of it. Not on my own. I can't do it. But God can, and has, and will. Though I am a wretched man, God has still granted me grace, making me perfect in his eyes. And now I live as if I am in heaven now, worshiping God in all that I do for what HE did, not me. I can't save myself, only God can.

You don't got this. Only God does.

Back again! Depending on God

I realize it's been forever since I last posted. Yes, I've been busy, but that's no excuse.
If you don't follow my other blog, that's cool, but I outlined on there that I will be updating this blog three times a week from here on out. This will happen Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of every week. Usually. I do have two weeks of camp that I'll be at and unable to post, plus a week of vacation in July. But overall, this will be running three days a week. Keep me accountable with it!

Now! On to the devo post!

The other day I was mowing, and I was thinking about how, without me, the grass would not get cut. I'm the one that fills the mower with gas. If it wasn't for that, it wouldn't run.
I'm the one that starts the mower. If it wasn't for that, it wouldn't be able to cut.
I'm the one that pushes it around the yard. If it wasn't for that, it wouldn't move and cut.
I'm the one that stops and empties the bag of grass clippings. Else it would get clogged up and leave extra grass every where.
I'm the one that cuts the grass. If it wasn't for me, it would be a jungle.

The grass and it's upkeep are dependent on me.

What I really was thinking about when I was cutting the grass through is how, without God, I would be unable to do anything. I am dependent on God.
Without him, nothing would have been created (John 1.3, Colossians 1.16, Romans 11.36).
So without him, I would not exist. But in order for me to get here, he had to create a place for me to be. And people to lead to my eventual existence. And food for me to eat and water to drink and a people to create a place for me to stay and air to breathe. Without God and everything he has put in my life, I would have a miserable, and short, existence.

The other day after I got done mowing I was reading Acts 17, Paul in Athens. One of my favorite chapters of all time, and I come across this: "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he serve by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and EVERYTHING."

Paul here states to the Greeks that God has given us EVERYTHING! From life, to breath, to food and water. All of it has come from God. Without God we would have nothing. Even those that don't believe in him are dependent on him, they just don't know it. When I'm having a bad day, when I'm just angry at everything, I don't run to other people to make me feel better. I'm already mad, anything you do or say is just going to make it worse. But if I run to God, I find a place of safe refuge, a soothing pool of tranquility and peace. And it is there in his arms, in his temple, up his holy hill that I find the calming tones from my heavenly father saying, "It's alright son. It's fine. I got you now. Relax, rest in my work."

My dependence on God goes from my very existence to everything I do. I need comfort, I depend on God. I need advice, I depend on God. I need support, I depend on God.

This week, as you come to your wits end I implore you to run to God, and depend on him. See how your week changes.

The Shawshank Redemption

So I was watching the Shawshank Redemption last night. If you've never seen it, go get it and watch it. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen, hands down.

But while I was watching it I noticed that there is a theme running it in that mirrors the Christian's life.

We have a man, who was charged with the murder of his wife and her lover and went to prison for it. While there he learns, "Everyone here is innocent." Everyone plays into this idea. We see different exchanges throughout the movie, "What're you in for?" "I'm innocent, lawyer screwed me over."

As the movie goes on, following the main character Andy we see him continually admit that he's innocent. And in actuality, he was, he never murdered his wife or the man she was having an affair with. This is proven by another inmate at a different prison admitting to killing them to a character that ends up at Shawshank.

Near the end of the movie Andy is sitting with his best friend Red, and he has come to the realization, he's not innocent. He's guilty of killing his wife. Maybe he didn't pull the trigger, but his actions led her into her lovers arms, who was the target of a robbery, and they both were killed.

That night, Andy breaks out of prison, crawling through a sewer tunnel full of crap that leads to a river, in the pouring rain, and freedom.

The movie conclude with Andy going into different banks as another person, taking a fortune with him to escape to Mexico, his idea of a safe haven.

Here's how I see this connecting to the Christian life.

We all think we're innocent. I've never killed anyone, I've never robbed a bank. Maybe I stole that kids pencil in middle school, but that's not that bad.

And then bad things begin happening to us. Now I don't believe in karma, I believe that we're in a fallen world and that bad things happen as a result of sin in the world. So if I get in a fight with manbearpig and have my toe smashed, it's not because I did something wrong; it's because we're in a fallen world and bad things happen. Toes get smashed, car wrecks happen, people die, we lose things, we accidentally slice our arms open, bad things happen. All because of being in a fallen world. And we add to that. But we don't think we do because, "We're not that bad."

So we wonder, "Why are these bad things happening to me? I'm not a bad person. I'm innocent."

Eventually we come to realize, we're no innocent. Maybe we're not as bad as this other guy, but Romans 5 tells us one sin from one man was enough to condemn all of humanity, and we sin multiple times on a daily basis. We by no means are innocent.

From there we take our first step towards salvation. Andy had a rock hammer, an old crumbling wall, and a poster to cover the hole. These lead to his salvation. We have Jesus to lead us to ours. But it's not an easy step to be saved. It's not just getting baptized. It's giving up who you are, a prisoner, either to sin or the system as in Andy's case, and crawling through all of your mistakes, realizing what a wretched creature you are, how sinful you are, and coming out the other side into God's saving grace which he pours on you like rain. It washes you clean, and you are liberated and free, becoming a new person, taking on a new identity, and taking the riches, the treasure that is Jesus, the promise of eternal life, and we go on travelling to our safe haven, to be with Christ, but already living like we are.

Alright. We'll do it. The Same Sex Marriage Talk.

So Indiana just recently passed a "Religious Freedom Law" which, from my understanding, gives business owners a right to deny others service based on their religious preferences. Because of this here are some pictures of signs that have popped up.

(I apologize for the language in the above picture, I was unable to edit it. 

So deal with it. It's just a word)

Here are my thoughts, and they are just that, my thoughts. They are based on my interpretation of scripture, my deep thoughts on the matter, and also me flying by the seat of my pants a bit because I don't know everything and I will willingly admit that I'm still working through some of this stuff.

Here are the facts according to scripture: 

• Homosexual sex is a sin
• Just as adultery, substance abuse, stealing, murdering, and holding idols
• We are to love everyone

I think that about sums up the facts about same sex marriage from a biblical standpoint. But here's where things get dicey. And fun. Kinda. 

Is the term marriage strictly Christian? Some will say yes and stand on that and pound the Bible saying that the word "marriage" is in there therefore it is a Christian term. But what about the fact that all religions have the term marriage? And that the term of marriage found in the Bible is something that all people, Jews, Muslim, and at the time Greeks and Romans understood? I don't think that the term "marriage" is strictly Christian. So to say you stand against same sex marriage means you don't stand for two people loving each other and wanting to make their union official. People said the same thing about 60 years ago about black and white couples.

So to go on the record, I don't have a problem with same sex marriage/civil union (I would prefer them to have that term instead of marriage, but like I stated "marriage" is not explicitly Christian). I also just thought of this, just to make it clear the Bible does not exactly say same sex marriage is a sin, but that same sex intercourse is. But why get married if you're not going to have sex? (Interesting topic for another time) So same sex marriage = same sex intercourse. 

Now I want to look at laws banning same sex marriage that Christians want to pass so desperately. My only question is why? And my rebuttal to whatever point you want to make is this. Let pagans act like pagans. If they don't believe who are we to say, "You can't do that." I met a Hindu today who was a vegetarian. I asked why, he said it was religious/moral reasons. That's cool. "But Acts 10 and Peter and the Blanket!" So what? That dude's not a Christian why should I hold him to that standard that I hold myself or my brothers? That's a bad example though, let's look at a different one. You meet a person that likes to get trashed on the weekends (though not in the realm of an alcoholic). They're not a Christian. Are you really going to pull out scripture on them and tell them that the Bible says you can't get drunk? Know what they'll do? Use the Bible as a coaster for their drink later. You tell them your concern for their health, but you can't hold them to the same standard that you hold yourself. It's the same with non-Christians who are gay. They're a sinner just like everyone else and all you can do is love them and tell them about Jesus.

So with those laws you are saying that you want people who don't follow your religion to live as if they do. Know who else is doing that right now? The extremist Muslims in the Middle East. Except they're cutting peoples heads off for them not agreeing. Yet we get up in arms about that and yet we miss that we're doing a political version of the same thing here in America. And don't try to throw the "Oh those are two completely different things" at me, because they're not. We don't like what you do so live like we do or we make things hard for you (or kill you). If they're not a Christian don't hold them to our rules then. If they want to steal let them. If they want to get hammered let them. If they want to get stoned let them. If they want to go at it with a person of the same sex let them. If they confess Christ though, that's a different story. Which I probably won't get to tonight. 

Now I want to look at the "religious freedom law" stuff in Indiana. And I want to start with myself. I am an ordained minister and am licences in the state of Ohio to perform marriages. I sign the marriage certificate. By the power invested in me by the state of Ohio and God I now pronounce you whatever. Yeah. I'm that guy. So if the state says that same sex marriage is legal and that anyone who is able to perform marriages can't refuse anyone, I'm in quite a pickle if a gay couple comes up to me and asks me to do their wedding. Legally I could be bound to. Spiritually I disagree with this. So what should I do? If I could perform just civil unions, sure, why not. But I will not act as if this couple has God's blessing, because I don't think they do. The religious freedom law would give me the right to refuse. But then if I disagreed with someone getting married to someone else for whatever reason I could claim a religious conviction against that marriage, which would be me abusing my power. So how should I handle a gay couple coming to me asking me to perform a religious ceremony for them? "I'm sorry, but morally I cannot. I do not think God approves of this marriage so I will not perform a ceremony for you. I may suggest the _____ church with the guy in the rainbow robes, or the court house. I wish you the best though and if you would like to have a deeper conversation as to why I do not think God will bless this marriage I will be more than willing to have that conversation with you as long as it's in a civil manner." Once people start yelling or insulting people conversation just becomes worthless. But let's turn this from a ministers standpoint to a business owner.

We all know of the bakery that refused to make a cake for a gay couples wedding. I also saw an episode of I think it's called, "What would you do" where there was a woman trying on a wedding gown for her wedding to her partner and the woman refused to serve her because of it. It was all staged, but man was it interesting. The new law in Indiana allows that. Should they? Should they not? What if an Atheist, as seen above, puts a sign on their door says no Christians allowed? Should they be able to discriminate against us? Well from my standpoint, yes. If we can say, "I won't serve you because you're gay" others should be able to say, "I won't serve you because you're a Christian." But what the Atheist is saying is this: I won't serve you because you're intolerant. Well aren't you being intolerant of me? Well it's different because you're discriminating against one group. And so are you. You should go discriminate against yourself. 

I get why small business owners want to refuse service for a same sex wedding. You think that by serving those people you're supporting the marriage. But what if they're getting married at the court house and having a reception later? Or having a ceremony done by a captain, or a person that got ordained online just to perform the ceremony? What if, as it is in PA, you don't need a licence to marry? Should you be able to say, "I disagree with you choosing to love and be faithful to one person for the rest of your life because they have the same tools as you." Really? Marriage is not explicitly Christian! Let them have it! Let's share it! We have Holy Matrimony. We have marriage that is blessed by God. They have marriage that is recognized by the state and that's okay. This world is imperfect. Everyone sins and no sin is greater than another. Look at Romans 5. One sin killed all of us. A sin is a sin. But if we really want to try to weigh them out, I'll take two people of the same sex getting married over a child molester any day. If anything us serving them is a greater form of witnessing to them. Yeah, I disagree with you on this, but I hope for the best, let me serve you and support you in this next big step in your life, just like Jesus did everyone he came in contact with.

There's a lot more I can say on this issue but these are the points I want to get across.

• The term marriage is not solely Christian
• Homosexuality is a sin, is in the eyes of God is no worse than any other sin.
• Let pagans act like pagans. If they aren't a believer don't hold them to the same standard you hold yourself or your brothers and sisters.
• Love people for God's sake. Literally. Jesus is God's love in action. Let your service to all be God's love to them.
• Just by serving a same sex couple does not mean you agree with their life style. But again, see the previous points.

Go out today, find a gay person, and give them a hug.

Searching for a Messiah

I don’t have much in the way of TV. I got an antenna with just a few channels so sometimes I end up watching things that a 24 year old man shouldn’t watch by himself.

Of course I’m talking about awards shows like the Grammy’s, Emmy’s and Oscar’s.

This week I’m in Kentucky taking a class on ethics. Eventually I’m assuming we’ll get to ethics, but just today we talked about The Story of God, the one found in scripture. The question was raised, “Do you think that this obsession with story just rose? Did it resurface? Or has it always been there?” How did this relate to ethics? No idea, but that’s not the point. The point is that this got me thinking.

The movie that won Movie of the Year was Birdman. I watched about half of it, then quit. Not because I thought it was bad, but I wanted to watch it at a different time because I thought it was so good. So I don’t want to talk about that. But I was looking at the top 100 grossing films of 2014, and out of the top 20, I’ve seen 14 or know very well the premise of 14 of them. All of which have a character or characters that rise up to save a city, nation, the world, or even universe. Out of the top 20 grossing films, 2 were original: Interstellar and Neighbors. So that means that 18 of the top grossing movies of 2014 were adaptations, sequels, reboots, etc. Many of which again have the plot line of crisis that will impact the main character’s known world and a savior figure that saves everyone from the crisis.

Let’s look at two examples in the Hunger Games and Divergent (both of which I saw).

The Hunger Games is the story of a girl from incredibly humble origins, one that we can relate to, and she gets put in a situation which demands her to step up, and this leads to her being a leader, or a symbol. At least that’s what’s supposed to happen, I don’t think that particular point was established too well. But Katniss rises up, is the symbol of revolution against an oppressive government. Amazing how someone so low in that society rose so high! And now she has the role of savior of all the districts and is leading the battle against the government!

Divergent runs along the exact same lines. A girl from humble origins lives in a society made up of factions, each of which has a special role in the society, and all those in those factions have characteristics that make them perfect for that role. The main character, Tris, is what they call Divergent, or has characteristics that allow her to fit into all the factions. Throughout the movie events begin to transpire which create tension in the society leading to a climactic battle that will eventually lead to rebellion against the government which of course is oppressive, and this rebellion, revolution, will be led by Tris, a supposedly a strong character, but again I don’t think they have proven that she is a strong character. But she is to be leading the battle against the government as well!

About 2000 years ago there was another story about a Jewish man who did the same thing as these movies. He came from humble origins, to the point of when people hear where he came from they as, “Can anything good come from that town?” He was special, got into situations where he became someone, a celebrity, a leader. He rises up from his humble beginning, eventually having a couple hundred followers. The people of the day hear that this hero has come to save them and they flock to him, expecting him to use them as an army to cast off the oppressive government. Yet this story is different, he doesn’t raise up an army. He doesn’t start a war. He speaks of peace, love, respect, humility, submission, and a different kingdom, one that surrounds all people, yet not all are in. At the end of the story, instead of having a climactic battle between the oppressed rebels and the evil government, it ends with the leader, this savior figure, hanging on a cross, and dying, despite having done nothing wrong. This character is portrayed as a strong hero, and this time it has been proven. He had the power to do whatever he want, he had a following ready to take up arms for his names sake; yet he willingly surrendered himself to death to present and bring about a new type of salvation. While we may be oppressed by governments or society we are free spiritually from the bonds, effect, and results of sin, the most oppressive force ever to exist. We’re all under it, and can’t get out of it; except by grabbing onto this hero, who didn’t need to start a war, but instead just finished it by surrendering. But that’s not the end of the story, it’s the beginning of the end. Three days after his death he rose again, finishing the battle, defeating the enemy permanently. This is a true hero.

The fact that these movies are top grossing, and winning awards makes me think this: Society is looking for a Messiah, a leader, a savior that is just like us, one that we can relate to, who will save us from the hell that is our oppressive life. And with all these hero figures being ones from humble origins, ones that we can relate to, we feel as if we, like them, can rise up and save ourselves. We are searching for a savior, and we are being told that we can, should be, and are, our savior. But how can you save yourself? If you’re drowning how can you save yourself? If you’re hanging from the edge of a cliff and are out of strength, which you will run out of, how can you save yourself? If you’ve been shot and are bleeding out how can you save yourself? You can’t! It isn’t possible! You need someone else. Someone outside of what’s going on. You can’t be saved from drowning by another person who is drowning. You can’t be saved from bleeding out by a person that is bleeding out. You can’t be saved from the cliff by another person on the cliff. You can only be saved by a person outside of the problem you’re in.

We all know there’s evil in the world and that we need saved from it. That evil is sin and its effects on the world. We’re stuck in it so much that it’s in us and killing us. So how can we save ourselves from that evil? We can’t. But Jesus, our hero, who lived alongside us, started off just like us, and was in a sin filled world just like us, is different than us in this way: He never sinned, it never took hold of him, he was perfect. He is outside of the water, off the cliff, has full health and the proper tools to save us. He tossed us a rope, a life saver, and all he says is that we have to grab onto it and he’ll save us.

While movies, books and shows have good stories, they’re full of lies. You can’t save yourself. It’s impossible. Only Christ can save you. The ultimate hero, without flaw or weakness.

You no longer need to search for a Savior, the true one is waiting for you.